Gnocchi al telefono

Hello Fellow College Students,

Over winter break, I went out to dinner with some friends from high school and earlier to this great Italian restaurant. As it is family style dining, we shared two dishes: one was meat, and because I didn't eat it, I have no idea what it was, and the other was gnocchi al telefono. The menu described the dish as "Italian potato dumplings tossed with fresh mozzarella in a light roasted garlic marinara and a touch of cream." This dish was absolutely fantastic, so I decided to attempt to make my own version just for you folks. The end result was definitely different than the restaurant version, but I still personally think it is fantastic.

When I was a kid, I absolutely loved gnocchi (pronounced similarly to nee-yo-key). For those of you who haven't heard of this fabulous pasta before, it is a fairly light potato dumpling about the size of shooter marble. I think I really liked them when I was little because the way they looked, they reminded me of grubs from The Lion King, although significantly less slimy. Because they have a fairly strong taste on their own, unlike a lot of other pastas, they do not need a lot of extra flavors in the dish. So I would suggest adding each of the ingredients a little at a time and tasting before adding more of an ingredient.

When making this dish, I made the mistake of not cooking the gnocchi separately first. Don't make the same mistake I did! Instead, take either a package of gnocchi (or if you prefer and know how, your own homemade gnocchi) and put it in a microwave safe bowl of water (preferably hot). PLEASE, PLEASE, PLEASE, remember that no metal of any kind should go in the microwave!!!!!! Pop the bowl in the microwave for a minute to a minute and a half, or until the gnocchi are floating in the water (don't overdo it so the gnocchi is falling apart). A perfectly cooked gnocchi should feel a little squishy but still quite firm, if that makes any sense. It should spring back like a new mattress. Drain the water and dump the gnocchi into a 9" by 9" glass or ceramic baking dish, or a large microwave safe tupperware should work just fine. To make the sauce, take a 14.5 oz can of fire roasted crushed tomatoes and dump it in a decent size bowl, there is no need for this one to be microwave safe. I know that there are a lot of different types of canned tomatoes in the grocery store and it can be overwhelming (i know i was when I was trying to decide) considering they took up about half an aisle. When in doubt look at the organic cans, they may be slightly more expensive, but I know they have this type of tomato and there are a LOT fewer to look at. Add to the tomatoes about 1/2 to 3/4 of a teaspoon of parsley. I used the dried flakes found in the cooking spices, but fresh would also work wonderfully. Add about 1 tablespoon of milk and stir, the desired feel of the sauce is that it is creamy and fairly smooth without being runny. I suggest adding the milk a little bit at a time. The last ingredient for the sauce is a little bit of garlic powder. This can be also be found in the cooking aisle with the spices. Now, be careful with the garlic powder because you just want a hint of the garlic, not an overpowering sense of it. So add a little tap at a time until you get the desired taste. Now pour the sauce in with the gnocchi and add about a half cup of mozarella scattered over the top. I used fresh mozzarella because I really like the smooth taste of it when it melts, but the shredded kind works as well. If you use the fresh mozzarella, make sure to squeeze a lot of the excess moisture out or else it will run a bit when melted. Pop your nearly finished dish back in the microwave for about 2 to 3 minutes so that your cheese melts, and that's it.

This whole dish cost me about $6.75 and that was with using fresh mozzarella. It made about 2 to 3 servings. I am including a standard recipe format below to allow for easy reference:

Ingredients:
1 (14.5 oz) can fire roasted crushed tomatoes
1/2 to 3/4 teaspoon parsley
1 tablespoon milk
1 package gnocchi
1/2 cup mozzarella (packaged works, fresh is better)
garlic powder to taste

1. Heat gnocchi in a microwave safe bowl or microwave pasta cooker for 1 to 1 1/2 minutes or until gnocchi feels firm but slightly squishy
2. Mix crushed tomatoes, parsley, milk, and garlic powder together in a separate bowl.
3. Mix gnocchi and sauce together in a microwave safe 9" by 9" dish (remember, not metal)
4. Scatter mozzarella across top. If fresh, drain the liquid first.
5. Put back in microwave for 2 to 3 minutes to melt the cheese completely.